(By The Canadian Press) -- Long before Expo there were the
skeptics, the worriers.

Canada couldn't afford it...The 1967 world's fair would
never be ready in time...With all the land available, why build islands in the
middle of the St. Lawrence?

Now, as Expo 67 nears the end of its six-month run, a sense
of pride in achievement and a feeling of confidence in the future are
evident.

The reaction is reflected in enthusiastic letters to the
editor in newspapers, editorials, columnists' comments, the return-home response
of individual fair-goers.

There are some who wonder whether perhaps anything from here
on will be anti-climatic. For example, an editorial in the Saint John
Telegram-Journal asks:

"How in the world can Canada ever reach this peak again?
It's a hard act to follow."

There are others who share the confidence of Prime Minister
Pearson. When he attended Expo's opening April 27 he termed it "the fulfillment
of one of the most daring acts of faith in Canadian enterprise and ability ever
undertaken."

'NEW CONFIDENCE'

Two months later he told Jacques Pigeon of Montréal La Presse: "It has given us new confidence in our ability to do things, to build
things; the confidence we used to have."

The general reaction of the press and public was sampled in
a Cross-Canada Survey by The Canadian Press. While it showed national pride as
the dominant feeling, there were many remarks to indicate a warm friendliness
toward French Canada for its hospitality.

There was early, unfavorable reaction when news stories told
of poor and high-priced accommodation in Montréal, or exorbitant charges for
meals and other services.

Still, the I-want-to-go-and-see-for-myself holidayer was in
the majority. He found that he didn't need to spend everything he had to enjoy
the big show and returned home an Expo booster.

That it was the highlight of Canada's 100th birthday
celebrations was undisputed. Said an editorial in the Vancouver
Province:

"When Centennial Year is a distant memory, it will be Expo
and its wonders that Canadian children of today will talk about to their
grandchildren."

The Ottawa Journal termed Expo "an unparalleled, magnificent
success both for itself and for the whole country."

While the proponents of Québec separatism and associate
statehood may have their reservations, External Affairs Minister Martin saw the
fair as unifying influence.

"Expo has helped Canadians to appreciate their own strength
and helped them to recognize the need of reconciling unity amidst diversity in
Canada," he told The Canadian Press. "It has convinced all of us our future
indeed is a great one which will require us to work together with more energy
than ever."

For Eleanor Dansereau, an Edmonton housewife, Expo merely
confirmed what she said she had known all along -- that Canadians could compete
with any nation in the world. And Edmonton accountant Shirley Robb said the fair
should end speculation that Canada will eventually be absorbed by the United
States either politically or economically.

Thousand of Canadians felt compelled to write to the editor
of a local newspaper about their experience.

Ernie F. Alliston, Vancouver: "I went to Montréal a biased
English Canadian. I found our French Canadian brethren have earned the praise of
our people everywhere for the sensational Expo site, buildings and efficiency of
transportation service..."

Frank Johnston, Grand Falls, N.B., high school student: "It
was worth three years of school."

J. Harvey Tolton, Brandon, Man.: "The man-made islands so
beautifully landscaped...all kept so clean and tidy, with swift, sure
transportation from one to the other fill one with amazement at such a
tremendous accomplishment in so short a time."

David Fraser, Central Caribou, N.S.: "This is surely a place
where man, ruler of the world, has combined all his talents to make this
international exposition."

Rae Aston, Regina: "It was all I could do to keep from
shouting from the rooftops: 'Canada has done something better than anybody else
in the world and I'm proud to be a Canadian.'"

Now and then there was a sour note. Such as the Fort William
Times-Journal reader who asked: "Since the federal government recognizes Quebec
as French enclave within Canada's national boundaries, to whom should I address
my application for visa to visit Expo?"

Bert Burgoyne, Saint John Telegraph-Journal: "People are a
whole lot nicer at Expo than anywhere else we have ever been. I believe that our
family was safer there from violence, hatred, crime, indifference,
discrimination and any other human abuses that plague daily life in this world
than we could be at any other place in the globe."

Dorothy Barker, Woodstock Sentinel-Press: "I felt a serene
sense of having been privileged to participate in that most extravagant salute
to Canada's century, Expo 67."

Jack Wasserman, Vancouver Sun: "I know it will sound silly
but this fair does make you proud to be a Canadian. It is impossible,
overwhelming, unbelievable and just plain Holy Jean Drapeau."

So did the cartoonists. A sample:

Len Norris depicted in the Vancouver Sun an American woman
outside a British Columbia motel telling her husband: "He says you can't miss
Expo...just turn east and continue until you notice eight-per-cent tax on meals
and you can't understand what the blarsted road sign say."

- End of article. Copyright by the Canadian Press,
October 21, 1967. All rights reserved.